#1732 Author: nithin roy Member Level: Bronze Member Rank: 374 Date: 14/Jan/2011 Rating:  Points: 6 |
house boats:Houseboats or kettuvallam (also known as rice boats) are country boats that were used in the early days for the transport of goods like rice and spices from the isolated interior villages of Kerala Backwater area to the towns like Alleppey, Kollam, Cochin and Kottayam. With the incoming of roads ,bridges and other transporting facilities gradually the kettuvalloms went off the scene. Now these kettuvalloms are back again as a major tourist attraction as a modern moving boat house that is kerala houseboats . Houseboats size vary from, about to 95 feet to about 107 feet long and 13 feet to about 19 feet wide. The materials that are used for making the house boats are all local and Eco friendly bamboo poles, coconut fiber ropes, bamboo mats, coir carpets etc. The main wood used is "Anjili".The exterior of the boat is painted with protective coats of cashew nut oil.
Unlike the old house boats the modern type house boat have all the creative comforts like a Hotel , well-furnished bedrooms, modern hygienic toilets, cosy living rooms, dining area, beautiful kitchen and balcony for angling. Most of the Houseboats are powered by remarkably unobtrusive inboard diesel engines and use solar energy for power requirements.In addition there is also separate rest room.
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